‘Allow everyone to enjoy the cinema experience’: No one wants to hear you sing during ‘Wicked’
Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is adapted from one of Broadway’s most beloved and popular musicals. Naturally, as the film hits theaters, fans of the musical who have all the songs down pat and practiced to pitch perfection will be tempted to sing along while watching the film. So here’s a gentle reminder—No one wants to hear you sing during the movie.
As it turns out, Universal Pictures and AMC theaters have anticipated this and have figured out a way to tactfully remind moviegoers not to … perform while watching the movie, so as not to disturb their fellow patrons. According to a post by a Reddit user who attended a Wicked screening at an AMC in Los Angeles, an “etiquette trailer” plays before the film, featuring the Wizard of Oz himself, Jeff Goldblum.
The Wizard warns moviegoers, “At AMC, silence is golden,” and offers a checklist of behaviors that must be avoided while watching the movie—talking, singing, texting, even flirting! The trailer also includes funny clips from the movie to drive the message home.
As if THE Jeff Goldblum casting a silence spell wasn’t enough, notices have also been posted in certain cinema halls requesting moviegoers to “refrain from singing during the show.” One such notice further assures enthusiastic fans that a singalong version of Wicked will be released in theaters on December 25. Surely, other cinemas will follow suit, so hold your horses till then, yeah?
Despite the warnings, etiquette guidelines, and humble requests, a few instances of singing might be inevitable, and a debate is already raging on social media about how irritating and unfair this would be to others, and what can be done to avoid encountering such an experience.
One person bluntly (and correctly) said that people were “paying to hear Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, not you,” after one fan suggested in a New York Times article that those who would frown on singing in the cinema should wait to stream the movie.
Some suggested they would get theater employees involved if anyone decided to ruin the movie with their singing. Others recommend waiting a few days before watching the film to avoid the rush of eager fans.
Sadly, we’re at a point where people must be reminded that movie-watching in a cinema is a communal activity, and one must be mindful of others’ experiences. That would include not recording clips, refraining from using your phone during the show, and most importantly, staying silent and defying the urge to join Ephaba and Glinda in a tune, no matter how tempting.
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